King of Underworld

Chapter 45 Excursion of the Gods – (3)

Some time had passed since the goddesses Styx and Lethe had disembarked from the chariot.

*Whirr—*

The ghost horses’ legs moved swiftly, galloping across the land.

The sound of the chariot wheels and hoofbeats echoed across the vast plains surrounding Mount Etna.

Of course, the appearance and sound were masked, so humans were unaware of our presence.

“Kyaa haha!”

“Throw it this way!”

Even though this mountain was dangerous, with Typhon’s body sealed beneath it,

the beautiful scenery meant that even a slight turn of the head revealed many nymphs.

There was a forest nearby, and I could see a small stream of clear water flowing.

It was the kind of natural landscape where one would expect fairies to dwell.

My expression naturally softened, and I felt at peace.

It was certainly a refreshing change from seeing nothing but parchment scrolls in the office every day.

For a moment, I made the chariot and ghost horses disappear and further suppressed my power as I approached the mountain.

If my presence were to engulf this area, Typhon’s body might be provoked into a rampage, causing earthquakes.

*Saaak—*

My black divine power slowly swept over the mountain, monitoring the being buried beneath.

Hmm. Typhon’s body is still intact. It’s calm.

As I was about to return to where I had parted with the two goddesses, someone called out to me from between the trees.

It was the presence of a female nymph who had been glancing in my direction for a while now.

“Hey there, handsome! If you’re bored, why don’t you come play with me?”

A nymph with light turquoise hair approached me, waving her hand.

A cool, refreshing aura. She must be one of the Naiades, the water nymphs.

But it seemed she already had a companion to converse with…

“Menthe! What’s so great about that guy? Why don’t you talk to me instead?”

“No, I said I don’t want to! Go away!”

From behind the nymph, a male centaur ran over and roughly grabbed her hand.

I had noticed him circling around the nymph earlier, so I assumed they knew each other, but it seemed to be a one-sided pursuit.

“Shut up! Just come with me!”

“Kyaa! Get away from me!”

The centaur, seemingly angry, roughly pulled the nymph into his arms.

It seemed that the crime, so common in Greece, was about to unfold once again.

Zeus, Poseidon… so many gods and men committing the crime of violating beautiful women.

This is the reason why women who were raped and killed would harbor deep resentment and plead their case before Minos, the judge.

“Hey! What are you looking at? This woman is mine… Ack!”

“Eek!… Haah…”

Unable to stand the disgusting sight any longer, I overpowered him and killed him.

The heart of the brutal centaur, who had been about to rape the nymph, stopped, and he collapsed, foaming at the mouth.

“Hiek…!”

The nymph, meeting my eyes, burst into tears and trembled with fear.

Seeing her hurriedly put on the clothes that had been half torn off, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“…I have no interest in you, so don’t worry.”

“Are you… perhaps a god from somewhere?”

“Yes, and you should stay with the other nymphs. There are more like him.”

Since the highest god, Zeus, is a rapist, other races aren’t much different.

Especially centaurs, with their lower bodies of beasts, are more driven by their instincts.

Having dealt with the situation, I was about to leave when I caught a familiar scent from her.

A very… refreshingly familiar scent from long ago.

Perhaps around the time Athena was born? Or when I overthrew my father, Cronus, and took over the world?

No, even earlier, from my past life…

A scent that brought back nostalgic memories.

The nymph, now fully dressed, expressed her gratitude to me.

“Thank you so much. If you ever see any nymphs around here, just say that Menthe helped you…”

Ment… Wait, could it be…

“What did you say your name was?”

“I’m called Menthe.”

Menthe. Mint… Mint?

Mint, like the flavor in mint chocolate?

“You’re a Naiad, a water nymph… Do you happen to grow plants that emit a refreshing scent?”

“Yes? How did you know?”

* * *

“This way, my lord.”

When I showed interest in the plants, Menthe asked me to follow her.

I followed her into the forest and saw plants growing beside a small stream.

“This is it. It’s just an ordinary plant that transformed when I imbued it with my power…”

Small leaves, a new species that I hadn’t seen in the mortal world until now.

This plant is indeed…

“Mint… it’s peppermint.”

“Excuse me?”

Ignoring the puzzled Menthe, I plucked some leaves, put them in my mouth, and chewed.

A refreshing coolness spread throughout my mouth.

It was a long-lost fragrance from the past.

“You said your name was Menthe. I am Hades, the god of the Underworld.”

“W-What…? Lord Hades?!”

“Yes, and as a reward for helping me regain a lost memory, I will grant you one wish.”

I didn’t make the foolish mistake of swearing by the River Styx.

I intended to grant her a reasonable wish within my power.

Of course, my interpretation of “reasonable” was rather broad.

Menthe, startled by my words, frantically waved her hands, her face turning bright red and then returning to normal repeatedly.

“T-Then, if it’s not too much trouble… Ugh… No, that’s too much to ask…”

“You can take your time thinking about it.”

“T-Then, could you… spend some time with me?”

…Is that really your wish?

With a face as red as a ripe apple, she barely managed to express such a modest and small desire.

“Is that too much to ask?! I-I’m sorry…”

“That’s simple enough. And I’d like to reward you even more…”

As a spirit of nature and a nymph, she probably didn’t need the blessings of wealth,

and she didn’t seem to have any significant desires…

Ah! A good idea came to mind.

I could bestow upon her the honor that everyone desires.

“In addition, I will make the mint you created my symbol.”

“N-No way..?! That’s… far too much…”

Not at all, considering you helped me recall memories from my past life.

And that’s not the end of the reward.

“From now on, mint will always grow in my temples, and I will ensure that humans know you created it. Foods made with mint will spread across the world, and…”

“U-Ugh…”

Menthe, now unable to say anything, simply opened and closed her mouth in shock.

Her face, which she covered with her hands, turned as red as Hephaestus’s flames.

Next, I intended to grant her request for a brief stroll together…

But I felt the presence of approaching goddesses nearby.

Goddess Lethe and… Goddess Styx?

“Oh, Hades! Here you are… Huh?”

“We’ve been looking for you… But who’s that…?”

The goddesses who had been approaching looked back and forth between the blushing Menthe and me.

Their expressions gradually hardened, and a menacing aura began to emanate from them.

Sensing the goddesses’ divine power, Menthe glanced at me and then at them…

“T-This power… A-Are you goddesses? T-Then I must be… terribly sorry!!!”

As if realizing something, she turned and fled.

Wait, what am I supposed to do now that you’ve run off like that?

Should I have caught her and asked her to help clear up this misunderstanding?

My heart ached under the scrutinizing gazes of the two goddesses, who were slowly closing the distance.

“So, Hades is still a male god after all…”

“You came out to play with us, but now you’re with another woman… They’re just piling up…”

“…I assure you, this is not what it looks like.”

* * *

A few days after that incident,

In the flourishing temple of Hades in Thebes,

the high priest, who had been praying with closed eyes, suddenly jumped to his feet in surprise.

And as he struck the bell beside him, the clear sound of bells echoed through the temple.

“The Lord Hades has issued a divine oracle! All priests, gather at once!”

“A divine oracle?! What did he say this time…”

“The Lord Hades has bestowed upon us his symbol!”

In the center of the temple, surrounded by swirling black divine power, Hades’s divine gift had arrived.

Having barely cleared up the misunderstanding with the two goddesses, Hades had sent a large quantity of mint to his temple.

The priests were puzzled as they gazed at the pile of mint leaves and seeds stacked like a mountain.

“This is… a plant I’ve never seen before, but it has a very strong scent.”

“There must be a reason why the Lord Hades sent this to us…”

“He named it mint after the nymph Menthe, who created it…”

“Could it be that nymph accomplished some great feat?”

One of the priests, who had been pondering for a while, finally spoke up.

It was Penedeya, the future high priest, who had been directly possessed by Hades.

“Could it be that Lord Hades has shown consideration for the

deceased and their bereaved families?”

“Consideration for the deceased…?”

“If we use this strong-scented mint during funerals, perhaps it will ease the minds of both the deceased and their families by masking the stench of the corpse?”

“Ah! Like the coins we give to Charon the ferryman?!”

The others now wore expressions of understanding.

“Indeed! No one would want their family member’s corpse to reek as it decays…”

“To make their final journey a little more bearable…”

“Now that I think about it, the scent of this plant is refreshingly soothing. Truly, a merciful god…”

It was a moment when the priests’ faith in the merciful god who cared so much for mortals grew even stronger.

From then on, during funerals in Thebes,

it became customary to place mint, the symbol of the merciful god Pluto, among the clothing of the deceased.

“They say Pluto’s mercy is symbolized by mint leaves?”

“It’s a solution to the stench that arises as corpses decay, apparently.”

“The god of the Underworld is truly merciful…”

“That nymph, Menthe, must be remarkable.”

Meanwhile, a certain god in the Underworld began to feel a strange surge in power…

“Did another one of my temples get built in the mortal world outside of Thebes?”